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— 30 charge to court

By Dayo Johnson , Akure

Within the spate of three weeks, the Ondo state security outfit codenamed, Amotekun, said it has arrested 80 suspected criminals across the state.

Four of the suspects arrested, were herders, who destroyed the 30 hectares of cassava farm, owned by the immediate past Vice Chairman (Southwest) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Eddy Olafeso.

Speaking in Akure, the state commander of the security outfit, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said that 32 among the suspects have been arraigned for prosecution after the investigation into their cases was concluded.

Adeleye said that the culprits were apprehended in Ekiti state, where they fled to after committing the crime

He noted that “In the last three weeks, 80 criminals were arrested. In the last 1 week, about 32 were taken to court for prosecution. Investigations are going on in most of these ones.

“Some of them at the end of the day were found to be victims of circumstances, like those that came out without means of identification at odd hours and are found where they were not supposed to be.

“Those ones, upon proper interrogation, were released to go, some were released on bail.

“But what we have here is about 36 men and women engaged in various criminal activities ranging from murder to anti-grazing, stealing of motorcycles, grinding machine, stealing of Keke napep, stealing of various houses household equipment, including generator, and armed robbery.

“Criminal is criminal, regardless of where they come from, we don’t want to give colour to criminality, a criminal is a criminal.

“The signal we are sending is that Ondo State is a place where you can’t thrive as a criminal, the criminals should better leave Ondo State, not only within the town but within the forest. Some of these criminals were arrested right inside the forest.

“Again, the anti-open grazing law is in force in Ondo State where we discouraged the use of underaged for grazing, especially when they engage in the destruction of farm products.

“We arrested some of those that engaged in the destruction of the farm of one of the principal officers of PDP that went viral. We caught them and we brought them back. There are four of them that were involved.

“We have got the owners of the farmland, we had equally allowed them to meet with the owners of the cows that destroyed the farmland and I think they are talking.

“But regardless of what they do, they had contravened the anti-open grazing law, so they must fulfil the righteousness by going through the normal judicial system.

“Majority of these ones that we are parading today, having concluded the investigations, some of them will be going to court, early in the week next week.”.

Adeleye added that a syndicate that specialized in snatching tricycles, popularly known as Keke Marwa, has been burst.

He said that ” a tricycle snatched by the syndicate and taken to Lagos State state was successfully tracked to the location where it was kept through the communication device procured by the state government.